Same Life, Different Day
by coffeestar
Summary: It's spring and Ianto's happy. A phone call changes everything. Slightly spoiler for Cyberwoman and Countrycide. Besides that, spoiler free.


**A/N: This was the first fan-fiction I wrote. For my first fic, I really liked the results of this story. It's published for a while on my livejournal, but since I finally figured out how to post here , here it goes. **

**I also would like to thank my best friend Cammy for beta-reading this.**

**Comments and concrits are always welcome. Enjoy :D**

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The gentle touch of the sunlight caressed his face. Ianto opened his eyes. He felt happy to see, through the blinds, that the sun was shining again, the winter hasn't been nice to him. He wanted to wake up, but his body was still unwilling to leave the comfy bed. Ianto then remembered the billion of things to do that day at the archive; he stopped thinking for a few seconds and decided.

"I'll set the alarm to wake me up in ten minutes".

With that, he turned around in the sheets, hid his eyes from the sunlight and fell asleep again.

Ten minutes felt like ten seconds, the loud beep made him open his eyes in scare. After realizing it was just the alarm Ianto had no other choice but to wake up and get ready to work. He did feel a bit of a headache while getting up, and he looked at the alarm and said "thanks", blaming it for the pain inside his head.

So, Ianto started his morning routine... After showering, shaving, and brushing his teeth, he went to the dresser and picked up the suit for the day. The black suit was already in a separate hanger behind the door, and, owning it to his spring mood, he decided to change shirts – instead of wearing the one he had previously picked, he chose a light green shirt, and a white striped dark green tie, and 'no waistcoat today', he decided. The shoes he'd wear that day were also on the floor, by the dresser's door.

Ianto dressed himself, got a pair of black socks in a drawer, and while grabbing the shoes, he felt a little dizzy. He put on the socks and shoes, and then he stared at the alarm and gave it a deathly glare.

"You will pay for this", he threatened.

Ianto then went to the kitchen and took a painkiller for his headache, checked himself in the mirror, closed to the front door, and while combing his hair he thought a cup of coffee would suit him very well then. Giggling at this stupid inner comment, the Welshman felt like he was forgetting something but couldn't remember what that would be.

"Never mind." Ianto said. "Gotta go!"

While grabbing the car keys, his mobile started to ring. He checked his pants' pockets and found nothing. Then he looked at the kitchen counter and saw its light blinking. "There you are!" he said smiling.

Looking at the caller's ID he saw:

_**JACK.**_

"Jack?"

"Ianto? Are you still at home? Oh, that's great."

"Yep, but I'm leaving, can't talk right now."

He was about to hung up when Jack spoke again. "Go with them!"

"What?" Ianto asked confused.

"Go with them."

"What?" Ianto insisted.

"Trust me, go with them... and don't resist".

"What the f..." Jack heard him hanging up.

Ianto was still trying to understand what had just happened. He was still for a moment, feeling dizzy again... When he was about to dial the number again, two guys dressed in black, with covered faces, bursted into Ianto's house.

"Don't move!" One of them said, pointing a gun at him.

Ianto shove the mobile in his pants' back pocket, and raised both hands.

"Alright, alright." Ianto said calmly. "No need for shooting."

He tried to look like he wasn't scared, but his heart was racing. They all heard a cracking sound coming from behind. Ianto could only guess that someone was breaking in through his bedroom window. A few seconds later, he felt a gun at the back of his head.

"Come with us." a woman said. "Don't try anything smart, we know who you are."

The two guys then tied his arms behind his back. He heard a noise and everything went black.

When Ianto recovered his senses, he realized he was blindfolded. He could hear noise, as if he were in a car. He tried to reach for his mobile, but there was nothing in his pocket.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. We found your phone." The woman spoke again. "And by the way, nice trick!"

Ianto was too confused and scared to even reply. He had no idea of what she was talking about.

"Sweet dreams." She said.

Ianto felt a burning sting in his right arm, and he was unconscious again.

* * *

Opening his eyes, Ianto could only see darkness. He wasn't blindfolded anymore, but he was in a dark place. He couldn't see much of it, but it smelled like the place had been abandoned for years, it was hard to describe. He was sitting in a chair, and realized that his feet were touching the floor. He was barefoot and could feel the dusty floor beneath his feet.

As soon as his eyes were getting used to the darkness, Ianto could see that it seemed to be a warehouse. An old, run-down warehouse. He could even see the sunlight shining through the rifts of the walls and doors.

'How do I get out of here?' Ianto thought, trying to move his hands that were still tied up behind his back.

"You don't!" The woman answered. It was the same voice.

'Wh...?' Even before he could finish that thought, she spoke again.

"I know it's confusing, but yes, I know what you're thinking." She answered while showing herself to him, but not all of her frame was visible. She was a blond woman, wearing black trousers and a black leather jacket. He couldn't see much of her face, but from her voice, Ianto could only guess she was probably mid 30s or even younger.

"Mid 30s?" She asked. "You are very good, Mr. Jones! I'm 32."

"How do you know everything..." he paused "Everything... I'm thinking?" Ianto frowned in confusion.

"I suppose you already know."

The Welshman was speechless. His face was still frowned in confusion.

"But after all we put you through, it's understandable that it'll take you a few minutes to remember things properly."

"What did you mean when you said something about a trick?" Ianto asked, remembering what happened before.

"You're not the one who ask the questions, babe." She paused. "You're the one who's going to answer the questions I'll make!"

"We...?"

"Not now..." She stopped him. "I'll be back in a second, make yourself comfortable." She said sarcastically while walking towards him, and whispered on his right ear. "And don't try to think anything clever, pretty boy, we can hear you..."

Ianto could hear the sound of her footsteps fading in the distance. A lot of things were so unclear in his mind; he was still trying to put the previous events in order: the call, the kidnapping... and now, there was this woman who could read his thoughts, the headache. The pain, his head... the headache was back, and stronger. He was sweating, and his heart was beating too fast.

"Aaah.." he yelled, trying to make the pain go away… it didn't work.

And then, Ianto heard the footsteps approaching once again.

"Alright!" She said. "This time, I'll play clean. I'll ask you the questions, but I won't listen to the answers in your head, I'll listen them through your lips. You better cooperate, because if you don't, things will change."

The Welshman could see a little more of her face now she was closer. Ianto could only see the glow of her eyes, and the red of her lips. He never liked red lipstick, though.

"Ok." Ianto had no other choice, but agree.

"Torchwood?" She asked. "What do you know about Torchwood?"

Ianto thought for a second.

"I've heard a few things about it, sometimes I see their black SUV in the streets of Cardiff." He answered calmly.

"Torchwood?" She insisted. "Torchwood London."

His brow furrowed then, as he looked to the floor. The pain in his head was growing stronger and stronger.

"What does London have to do with Torchwood?" he frowned. "What do I have to do with Torchwood?" Ianto asked resisting the urge to scream in pain… there was a cold sweat in his hands.

"Where do you work?"

"At Providence Park... I work at the archives, I am an archivist."

The tone in her voice had changed, there was something bothering her. Once again she asked about Torchwood, but the answers Ianto gave were the same. He couldn't talk about a thing he didn't seem know.

"Let's do the different way now!" She said, her voice was different... darker...

Ianto couldn't figure out what was going on, all those questions about something he'd only heard the guys at work talking about, and London, he hated London… Such a sad city… At least the pain in his head had stopped.

"Did you miss me?" She was back, bringing a piece of paper. "Be careful on your answers, now I can hear your inner answers."

He didn't feel very threatened about the fact she could know what he was thinking; all she seemed to be interested was something he couldn't answer her properly anyway. He felt more relaxed.

"Ianto, tell me about yourself? What you've done after you finished school." She asked softly.

"I can say I was a bit of a drifter after school. I had a several jobs and ended up working at Providence Park. I started organizing their archives, and lately I've updating their system."

"Tell me about Torchwood London." She demanded.

The headache came stronger this time, his vision became blurry and he felt like vomiting.

"I don't know about Torchwood London." Ianto yelled.

"Have you been feeling dizzy, sweetie? Are your headaches getting stronger by the minute?"

"Yes." Ianto answered, recollecting himself.

That's when she showed him the paper. But he couldn't read it.

"I know, it's too dark for you to read."

"What is it?" Ianto asked.

"It's the result of your blood test."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means they knew we were after you." She started. "We've been always after you, we knew about you and Torchwood London. It was quite a surprise to find out that you were working for Torchwood Cardiff. No wonder why all your mobile contacts were deleted."

Ianto frowned in confusion again.

"Don't worry, I'll explain it to you." She paused. "There's this funny thing about working for Torchwood. Whenever they want, they can make you forget everything…. The headaches, the dizziness, the sweating, the puking... they're all side-effects."

"What do you mean?" Ianto was curious.

"There's this drug called Retcon. It's just a pill, like an aspirin. But take it, and in the next morning all your memories will be gone. They can make you forget anything they want, including people you loved, your family, and apparently, Torchwood's role in your life. She paused for a long second "And you... you have traces of this little magic thing in your bloody." And then she grinned at the Welshman. Ianto felt that this was one of the scariest moments of his life.

'How could this be possible?!' He thought.

"It is possible, sweetheart... and that's why, you're no use for us... not anymore."

She grabbed a gun that was hidden in her leather jacket, and put it against Ianto's forehead.

"BUT HE IS FOR ME!" A guy shouted while breaking one of the doors behind her.

She turned to him and Ianto heard two shots, the guy fell dead.

The woman turned to Ianto again, ready to shoot.

There was another gunshot.

And there was a bullet hole in her forehead.

"Oh my God!" Ianto panicked.

Someone came from behind his chair and he felt a sting in his arm. While Ianto could still hear the gunshots, his head got heavy and everything faded to black again.

* * *

Ianto could tell there were voices talking, and a discussion. A bright light was pointed to his face. He tried to open his eyes a few times, but he couldn't.

When Ianto slowly opened his eyes, a man turned the light off.

"Are you OK, mate?" The man asked nicely.

"You tell me!" Ianto answered, recalling the woman's trick.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, can't you read my mind and know what I'm thinking?"

"No!" The man frowned. "But even if I could, I wouldn't waste it reading your thoughts, Ianto!" and he smirked.

"Owen, stop it! Give him a break." A woman said. It was different from that scary woman's voice, however.

Ianto raised his head to look at her, he sat on the bed. She was a cute Japanese woman, dressed in a purple shirt and black trousers. There was another woman beside her, black hair, red long sleeved shirt and black trousers too. He realized a couple of seconds later that his hands were free and, as far as he could tell, he was totally OK, no broken bones, or anything.

"I'm OK, then?" Ianto asked.

"Apparently you're fine, Ianto!" The man said.

And all of a sudden, Ianto jumped in scare with widened-in-awe eyes.

"You were dead..." He didn't know how he would finish that sentence; his voice was fading as the man started walking towards him.

"That happened to me too!" The woman in red said to him. "You'll get used to it... again!"

"Are you OK?" The man asked.

"You're the man on the phone, right?" Ianto asked, still scared.

"Yes!" The man smiled. A movie-star-style smile. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, nice to meet you!" He offered his hand.

"I am ..." Ianto began, as he shook the Captain's hand.

"Ianto Jones!" The woman in purple answered with a smile. "We know!"

Ianto was still speechless.

"I believe you already know that that's Owen Harper, the doctor responsible for your health care." Captain Jack said, pointing to the other man, "And those two beauties on the other corner are Toshiko Sato in purple, and Gwen Cooper in red!" He giggled. "This is kind of fun!"

"Who are you?" Ianto asked.

"We're Torchwood!" Captain Jack answered.

The Welshman thought for a few seconds.

"I heard about Torchwood, already. But, seriously, who are you?" Ianto insisted.

"We really are Torchwood." The woman in purple answered, pointing at the Torchwood logo on the medical chart she was holding.

"OK. Now I know all your names, and apparently you know mine. Could you tell me what's going on?" Ianto asked, a bit calmer.

"Tosh, could you please pick up something for Ianto to drink? He needs to drink lots of water." Owen asked nicely.

"Sure!" she said.

"Coffee would be fine." Ianto said, innocently.

"See? I told you some things wouldn't change!" the doctor said to the Captain. "But you better stick with water, Ianto. We don't know how your body is going to react if you drink coffee."

The Welshman frowned.

"Trust me, water is the best choice" Owen grinned at him.

Ianto drank a glass full of water. He hadn't drank, nor eaten anything all day long. Then both men helped him walking to some sort of boardroom. Ianto couldn't tell for sure what exactly that place was. But he felt strangely safe there.

"This is what happened." Captain Jack began, once everyone was seated. "Three weeks ago, I received a phone call from you, Ianto. At first, we couldn't understand anything, because you didn't speak to me. I knew it was you because I recognized your phone number on the caller ID…. And since you were at the office that moment, I let it go." He paused. "You insisted we should go deep, run some tests and scans, because you didn't make that call... and you were right. Tosh discovered that there was a rift spike at that moment. And your call was from the future. We all started researching how this could be possible, and it all made sense when I called you today." He paused again, trying to make sure Ianto was following his trail of thought. "When they took you from your flat this morning, you were about to call me back, right? Somehow when they were moving you from your flat, you did hit the "call" button, and it called me."

Ianto was really confused, but pretended he understood everything.

"We only found out this was going to happen "today" five days ago." The Captain continued. "Owen and Gwen found an alien artifact that could monitor and trace any type of signal, but Tosh had a hard time working on it. And three days ago, we found out what time of the day this was going to happen, and then I realized you called me, because I called before… It's confusing, I know". He said with a grin.

"But how come I don't remember any of this?" Ianto asked.

"These people knew who they were dealing with. They would make you pay for everything you knew and everything you've been doing for Torchwood all these years. So, you worked on a plan and decided that the best way to escape them was that you should be Retconned."

Somehow, all of those things started to make sense to the Welshman.

"So, if I really worked with you and knew you all… will I ever be able to remember everything?" Ianto asked.

"Yes." The Captain answered. "I only agreed with this plan of yours when you proved me that the Retcon effect could be reversible. And then you and all your memories would be back". The Captain locked eyes with Ianto, making the Welshman blush.

"You're sick, Harkness." Owen said. "The guy doesn't even remember you, and you're already making him blush!"

"But... who are they?" Ianto frowned.

"They're a group… some sort of organization that kill and steal from all people connected to Torchwood." The woman in red, Gwen, answered.

"We found an alien artifact at the warehouse" Toshiko said. "That's probably the one they used to read your thoughts. We've found one like that before, but this one has different technology. We don't know how it works, but we're working on it."

"Did you capture them?" Ianto wanted to know.

"Most of them died during the rescue mission and one managed to escape, but we are already working on the one we've captured alive." Toshiko answered.

"But... if they were coming for everyone related to Torchwood... couldn't they be after any one of you as well?" Ianto asked.

"They could..." Captain Jack answered. "We don't know why, but they seemed to be after people related to Torchwood London".

After hearing those words again, Ianto felt like there were knives twisting inside his head. He clutched his head and screamed in agonizing pain. His sight got blurry and he felt like fainting.

"It's time!" The Captain said. "Owen, get the room ready."

Ianto couldn't move, he was screaming and sweating. Owen and the Captain managed to lay him in a bed.

"Don't worry, Ianto. We're going to bring you back!" Owen said, injecting something in the Welshman's arm.

Ianto fell asleep.

* * *

Ianto slowly opened his eyes. It was dark, and it took him several seconds to realize that he was in his own bed at his flat. He couldn't recall how he got there, there were dark blinds covering the windows that were poorly fixed. 12:00 PM the alarm stated. Through the shades he could see that someone was sitting on a chair, by the bedside. He felt scared for a moment, and then he recognized it was Gwen.

He tried not to wake her up, and silently made his way to the living room, and then to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. His brow was tired, there were dark marks around his eyes... like he's been up for days... his hair was all messed up... he was wearing a loosen dark green shirt and red flannel pants, that probably weren't his, he had better taste for pajamas... 'I need to shave', he thought.

"IANTO?" Gwen yelled, a few minutes later.

"I'm in here in the bathroom, Gwen. I'll be out in a minute." He answered, opening the bathroom door. He could hear she was talking to someone.

Ianto headed back to the bedroom, but was surprised by Gwen running towards him and hugging him tightly.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're fine!" She said. "I called Jack and the others, they're on the way."

"Good!" Ianto replied grinning.

They had been talking for a few minutes when the others arrived. They all smiled when they saw him. Ianto felt good upon realizing that they were happy to see him fine and alive.

"How are you, Ianto?" Owen asked.

"He still doesn't remember us, Owen." Gwen answered sadly.

They all stopped smiling after that.

"You promised me this would work, Owen!" Ianto could feel the anger in the Captain's voice.

"Hey!" Owen said pushing Jack's hand away. "We all knew that this couldn't work. He knew that too!"

They both stopped talking, glaring at each other.

"Why don't we all calm down, yeah?" Toshiko suggested, breaking the silence. "Maybe he's still recovering, and he'll start remembering slowly."

"Yeah." Gwen agreed. "When I was Retconned, I wasn't supposed to remember you guys… But I did."

"Did you?" Ianto asked hopeful.

"Yes I did, Ianto."

They all seemed to agree.

"How long do you think this is going to take, Owen?" Jack asked. He was still angry.

"I don't know. The amnesia was supposed to be over by now. It can take hours, days, weeks..." Owen's voice sounded different, darker. "Jack… we erased all his Torchwood memories, he's recovering from a massive memory loss. I have no idea how long this is going to take. We should be glad there was no brain damage and he still can talk and walk…" Owen stopped when he saw Ianto's scared face.

"What does that mean?" Ianto was worried.

"We're taking him back to the Hub, and Owen, you're going to run all the possible exams to make sure that he's fine." The Captain ordered. "Toshiko, help him getting some clothes. He's not leaving the Hub until I'm sure he's safe and healthy."

"Ok!" Toshiko nodded.

Jack, Owen, and Gwen left the flat. Ianto separated a few jeans, socks, a pajama that matched colors and a few shirts.

"You're not taking any suits?" Toshiko asked.

"Why would I… It's not like I like to wear suits when I'm not at work!" He smirked.

"Never mind!" She smiled.

Then he put on socks and shoes, and they went to meet the others. The other three were waiting for them at a black SUV. Ianto could remember the few times he saw the black TORCHWOOD SUV at the streets, but couldn't remember being in it as a team member; he was just a passenger now. They drove him to the place he was before, and after they arrived, they ordered pizzas.

Owen began the exams. Exams Ianto couldn't even name. Some seemed extremely different for Ianto's medical knowledge, but he was never very familiar with medical terms and artifacts, so he decided to just stop paying attention to Owen's medical explanations after a while.

Toshiko and Gwen came to say goodbye two hours later the exams had started. The Captain never left the room, watching everything. Then, a few more hours later, Owen said:

"As far as I can say, you're totally fine, Ianto."

"Why 'as far as I can say'?" Ianto asked.

"Your lab results are good, but I'll only have some of other results tomorrow morning. Besides that, I want to take another blood test tomorrow too. Just to make sure the Retcon trace in your blood is still fading away, and the new compounds injected to bring your memories back are effective." Owen explained, but that didn't mean Ianto understood everything he said. Ianto just nodded.

"OK, Owen. You've done enough for today. You can go home now." the Captain said. "But be here before the sun rises tomorrow."

Owen said goodnight and left the room.

"Aren't you going home too?" Ianto asked.

"I am already at home!" Jack replied smiling. "Let me help you with the couch, I know it doesn't look comfortable. But it is".

"Anything is fine. Thank you, sir".

"Are you back with the 'sir' now? Please, call me Jack."

Ianto helped Jack transforming the couch, under the wall with the Torchwood logo, into a bed. The Captain gave him some sheets, pillows and blankets. After that, Jack showed the bathroom where Ianto could take a bath and change his clothes. When he was back from the bathroom, now wearing his pajamas, the Captain was waiting for him with a cup in his hand.

"I know coffee is your favorite drink. But tea will make you sleep better." Jack said handing the cup to the Welshman.

They both headed to the place where Ianto's "bed" was. Jack pulled a chair by the bedstead and Ianto sat on the couch. Ianto felt a bit uncomfortable to be there alone with the leader of the team, the Captain, but as soon as they started to chat, they both relaxed.

Jack told him stories about Torchwood and Ianto could see a glow in Jack's eyes. He felt warmth in Jack's words when he talked about Ianto. The Welshman, for the first time, felt sad because he couldn't remember all those amazing things he heard he had done. He never thought that he could be so important and meaningful for someone as those words made him believe he was.

They chatted for about an hour before Ianto fell asleep. He slept deeply, and had no dreams. Ianto didn't know for how long he had slept, but when he woke up he saw that Jack was still by the bedstead, asleep, and his right hand was holding Ianto's left hand. He looked at Jack and stared at him for minutes, asking himself why he couldn't remember him, someone he didn't know how, nor why, but he felt very warm and safe just by having his hand touching the Captain's hand. Ianto's heart was broken...

A noise woke Jack up. He opened his eyes and caught Ianto staring at him with a smile in his face. Ianto blushed.

"Are you OK?" Jack asked. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, yeah." Ianto replied.

"Nothing yet?" Jack asked, hopeful.

"Everything's the same, I don't feel any different." Ianto replied, seeing Jack's smile fade into a sad face.

"Someone's probably decided to come to work." Jack said and grinned, albeit a sad grin. "Go take a shower and change your clothes, I'll get us some breakfast."

Ianto headed to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, took a shower, and changed his clothes. He decided to wear blue jeans, and a long sleeved black shirt. His socks and shoes were already close to the couch. He had just put his shoes on when he realized Owen was already there, at the "medical station", analyzing test results. Ianto's tests' results.

"So, anything different?" Ianto asked.

"You're totally fine Ianto!" Owen answered still looking at the papers. "I'm going to get another blood sample now, come here."

When Ianto came closer, Owen raised an eyebrow. "No suit today?"

"No, why?"

"Never mind." Owen shook his head.

Owen then took another blood sample, and they started to chat. Owen talked about a few of Ianto's unsuccessful experiences at the medical station and they both laughed. Then it hit Ianto that Owen was talking about his friend Ianto, not him... He looked down and felt sad again.

Jack came back bringing coffee and croissants for them. Owen explained to Jack that Ianto was fine, and he had to run just another blood test to make sure there were no more traces of Retcon in Ianto's blood. Jack seemed satisfied with Owen's work and the lab's results. But the captain still seemed concerned.

A while later, Gwen and Toshiko arrived together.

"Wow!" Gwen said. "You look really good in jeans, Ianto! You forgot to bring a suit?"

"No…. Why's that?"

"Nah, never mind." She shook her head.

Ianto spent the whole day there with them. He felt a little bored, because they were busy and he had nothing to do. He started cleaning, when Jack stopped him.

"No, you're not cleaning today!" Jack ordered.

"You could make us some coffee, though!" Owen suggested, pointing to the coffee machine.  
Jack raised an eyebrow.  
"You think you remember how to make the coffee magic?"

"Yeah… Those machines are easy!" Ianto smiled.

Jack showed him where the coffee and the mugs were. And Ianto started preparing coffee. They all agreed that there was no better coffee maker than Ianto. After making the coffee, the Welshman started walking around, he did feel that the place was familiar to him… he also saw how they fit as team mates, and couldn't see how he was supposed to be part of that. He was just a nobody, a nobody that would never be smart enough to work with those people.

Later that day, Owen stated that there were no more Retcon traces in Ianto's blood and that the drug hadn't caused any brain damage either, so his memories would come back one day. Owen just couldn't tell when. Jack seemed disappointed, but allowed Ianto to go back home, and stated that they would keep an eye on him.

* * *

A week had passed since Jack said Ianto could go home, and it was a lonely and sad week. Ianto felt lost and confused, but never abandoned. Toshiko always visited him and brought him food and coffee; Owen always came to check his health and chat; Gwen constantly stopped by to talk about the latest aliens' artifacts discoveries and the chases, and about her love life. He didn't know who Rhys was, but he already knew a lot about him.

Only Jack was different... Jack hardly came to see him, and when he did, he never stayed there more than half an hour. Ianto felt he was one of those bosses that were just too busy to pay the employers a proper visit at home.

It was a rainy night when Jack knocked at Ianto's flat's door. No one had been there that day; Ianto thought the rain had pushed them way. Jack's greatcoat was soaking wet. He smiled at Ianto. "I brought you coffee!"

Ianto smiled back and invited Jack to come inside. Jack started talking about work when Ianto stopped him. "Why you never come to see me?" He asked.

"I do come to see you, Ianto!"

"You always come for a quick visit, and then you leave so fast! Why?"

They both stared each other silent.

"Because it hurts me to see you like that!" Jack stormed. Ianto rolled his eyes, but Jack continued. "For them... for Tosh, Gwen, and Owen... it's easier. You're the team member, the friend, the pal with amnesia... but for me..." he paused, looking deeply in Ianto's eyes. "You're much more than that to me!" Jack took a deep breath.

"What am I to you, Jack?" Ianto asked, sighing.

"You're... you're... you're the one I share my deepest thoughts and feelings, the one who's always there supporting and questioning me. When I have a bad day, you're the one there for me, waiting with a hug, a cup of coffee, and a word of comfort. And when I don't want to talk, you're there holding my hand and telling me I don't need to talk because you understand how I feel." Jack's eyes were wet. "And seeing you like this kills me, because you trusted me! I was supposed to bring you back, and I failed. I wiped all your memories, and ruined your life." Tears were falling down Jack's face.

Ianto rushed forward and hugged Jack so tight he could feel Jack's hard breathing through his chest. He whispered against Jack's ear. "It's alright." Looking Jack in the eyes, Ianto cradked Jack's head between his hands, wiped the tears that were falling down his cheeks, closed his eyes and kissed Jack in the lips. Jack kissed back, putting his hands around Ianto's waist and squeezing Ianto's body against his. They kissed until they couldn't feel anything else than each other's heartbeats,; all the noise coming from the streets and the rain outside disappeared, making them the only two people in the world.

When the kiss ended, Ianto leaned his head on Jack's shoulder. "Thank you." He whispered. "You were the one wiping my tears when I mourned Lisa... You were the one watching my sleep after that bloody countryside trip... You're the one that always believed I could do better than I did in London, and be a better person... You're the one who always listened to me, even knowing I'm a man of few words... You're the one that gave me meaning again, that I'm not just a tea boy... And you're the one I'll always come back for. No matter how many times I have to lose my memory."

Jack looked at him amazed, breaking the hug. "You remembered? When?"

"Yes." Ianto said softly. "It all started last night, the headaches, the sweating, the dreams, the puking, the pain, and all... I'm not sure I remembered everything, but I'm sure I remembered what I needed to remember."

"Why haven't you called me when it started?"

"I couldn't Jack, I remember it well. You tried to stop me when I suggested the Retcon idea, but I didn't listen to you. And I would feel embarrassed to have you here at this humiliating moment of my life."

"I wanted to be here for you."

"I know." Ianto grabbed Jack's hand, holding it tight.

"And to tell you 'I told you so' at every side-effect." Jack added.

"I know that too." Ianto rolled his eyes.

"Have you told the others?"

"No, you were the first. Are you mad?"

"Why the hell would I be mad? I would be mad if I weren't the first to know!" Jack laughed. "We'll let them know tomorrow morning. And Owen will make every possible test, scan, whatever, to make sure you're fine!"

"I could see that coming..." Ianto paused. "But... Tomorrow morning? It's still 8pm!"

"There's one more thing I want to be sure you still remember…" Jack raised an eyebrow and grinned at the Welshman.

He pulled Ianto closer and pressed a deep, passionate kiss to Ianto's lips. "Missed you." He whispered against Ianto's lips, then he kissed the Welshman again, this time, full of desire… full of need... Then they moved, heading over to the bedroom, still locked into each others' mouths... Ianto would remember that night as one of the most memorable nights of his, and Jack's, life.

* * *

Ianto opened his eyes when the soft touch of the sunlight caressed his skin, the sun was shining... 'Aah, Spring!' Ianto thought. He felt happy again, but this time he had Jack beside him. Jack's arms were around him. He was in the arms of the captain, his captain, and those arms were making him warm, cozy, and happy. There was a hint of a smile on Jack's brow. Ianto felt deeply glad, glad to be back, to remember how important the man beside him was… and how important he was to the man.

That's when the alarm went off, that loud and impolite beep. Ianto felt Jack shifting, but pretended he was still sleeping, he didn't want that moment to end… he heard a noise of something breaking and opened his eyes wide.

"Go back to sleep, Ianto." Jack said pressing a soft kiss into Ianto's hair. "The alarm threw itself against the wall, the poor thing."

Jack got up and Ianto felt as the warmth of Jack's body was fading away and moaned. Ianto looked at him as he walked towards the bathroom.

"Today, I'll pick up a suit for you to wear!" the Captain said. "You do look good in jeans, but you look much hotter wearing a suit!"

"Be careful, sir. That's harassment!" Ianto replied. He heard Jack's laugh coming from the bathroom… He could hear that laugh even if Jack was miles away.

"And you better tell Owen he should never try to fix a window again!" Ianto added. The Welshman smiled and then looked to what was left of the alarm. "Told you you'd pay!" He said, with a grin. He then took a deep breath, laid his head back on the pillow, and closed his eyes, remembering every word Jack had said the night before.

****  
*** the end ***

Thanks for reading! :)


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